Nazca Lines!
Trip Start
Nov 25, 2004
1
112
169
Trip End
Jan 26, 2005
Nazca,
Peru
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Up bright & early for our flight, we arrived at the little airport and sat to watch a video which was really interesting in an 80's sort of way to do with all the theories behind the lines - these ranged from extra terrestrial landing sites to a huge astronomical calendar and to be honest no-one really knows to this day which makes it even more mysterious!!!
Duuuvid gets in control, well co-pilot anyway
!The lines were originally thought to be the remains of irrigation lines beyond the Nazca valley, it wasn't until they were seen from the air that the lines were recognizable as figures. The lines are a variety of geometrical figures, trapezoids, triangles and lines, plus marine, animal and bird figures of hummingbirds, a whale, a monkey, a spider, a pelican, another like a condor, and one called the astronaut. They range in size up to 300m across and are about 2000 years old. Maria Reiche (the video focused on this theory the most!) developed the theory that the ancient Peruvians drew the lines to please the gods and secure their good will. She called the desert an astronomical calendar to remind the gods that the desert was dry and needed water; that crops needed blessings; that the seas needed fish. There are theories that the figures correspond to cosntellations and the annual change of the seasons. Other theories contend that the figures represent a pantheon of gods and goddesses and were the site of religious ceremonies - there are so many theories it's unbelievable which all makes for fascinating stuff!
We watched another group take-off and land! Some of the guys coming off it looked remarkaby green and warned us that the banking of the plane and the stuffiness inside could make you feel mighty queezy
Looks like a Hirst to me
! Gulp! Anyway...from getting to the airport at about 08:00, we didn't actually get up in a plane until early afternoon which tested our patience to the max!!!!!! But it was worth it....So finally off we went in our little 6 seater Cessna...not sure about the co-pilot though (Apparently he was a good looking chap though....added by DW)!!!! It really was amazing and the only way I can describe it is like a huge etch-a-sketch...the whole area is flat and there are lines literally everywhere...along with the main shapes you've got geometric lines shooting off in every direction! It did make your tummy turn when the plane banked, you just had to keep your eyes focused on where you were going! Not one for you mum! Back on land again, we headed back to Walter's for lunch! And some imported chocolate cake...'imported' as he went up the road to buy it! Paul went on a wild goose chase around Nazca trying to get our change from the guy at the hotel who turned out to be a dodgy agent! Paul found him drunk & dribbling after an all day drinking session! Nice! After a brief panic when we found the main bus agents had no overnight buses to Cuzco, me & Dave went on a mission and managed to find us 3 seats leaving abit later than we thought which gave us enough time to wind Paul up that we had no luck, play some pool and have some more beers to help us sleep on the bus of course!!!! And apparently we ate some dodgy food from a 'smiley' takeaway bar...damn those cerveza's!!!
